CSI Scampton
by undisturbedpeace
Summary: Accepting an invitation from an friend , Horatio and his CSIs travel to England to visit RAF Scampton, home of the legendary 617 "Dambusters" Squadron. But there is more to this trip than meets the eye, and their arrival brings unexpected attention...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Sitting in a sunlit corner of a Miami café and sipping a cup of strong black coffee Horatio Caine was about to dig in to a cinnamon bun when his cell phone went off. _Damn,_ he thought. _It's my first day of two weeks vacation. What does the brass want now?_

But it wasn't the brass, or a call about a murder for his CSIs to jump on. The name on the phone sent his memory back to his junior year in high school. In his French class there had been a foreign exchange student, a very beautiful girl from England who was popular and intelligent. She was from the village of Scampton and was one of the most amiable people Horatio had ever met, the dream of every misfit and football jock in school. Her name was Tamsin Shaw and she used to tell Horatio about an old World War II airbase near her hometown as well as stories about the famous 617 Squadron…the Dambusters, who had at one time called that airbase home. In fact, so knowledgeable in their legend was she that Tamsin had acquired the nickname "the Dambusters Queen". Was she still living up to that title?

Horatio put the phone to his ear and said, "This is Horatio Caine."

Back came a soft female voice, a voice that sent jocks' and nerds' hearts a-flutter: "Well, well…Horatio Caine. I must admit that you're a tough man to find. I know you remember me…" He could almost see her wide and sparkling smile.

"I do remember you ma'am," he said as he smiled himself. "How're you doing, Tamsin?"

"Two children and a nasty divorce can make a woman feel like she's going mad but I'm all right," Tamsin replied. "How are you? Are you still living in New York?"

"No. I live in Miami, Florida now."

"Miami? Interesting…my cousin Jack lives there."

Horatio took a sip of coffee. "Are you still a Dambusters groupie, Tam?" he asked. She laughed. "You know me all too well Horatio," she replied. "I have a job as a guide at RAF Scampton now. That…is why I'm ringing you."

"I'm listening."

"Would you like to come to England and tour Scampton?" Tamsin sounded hopeful. "I will pay the fare of course."

Horatio paused. Calliegh, Eric, and Ryan were on vacation too. Would they like to go to England as well? After all the hard work they did in the lab they deserved a break. "That sounds good, Tamsin," he said. "Tamsin…"

"You wish to bring friends," Tamsin finished.

"You've read my mind," said Horatio. Tamsin chuckled.

"That sounds wonderful Horatio," she said. "How many? Two? Three?"

"Three."

"All right. I'll send you the tickets today…you should get them soon." Tamsin paused. "Maybe afterwards we can have a drink…after the tour. Catch up on old times?"

Horatio smiled in spite of himself. It was no secret in high school that Tamsin had a crush on him but that was years ago. Sure, like every other guy, he had thought she was some goddess fallen to Earth, but he had always considered her a friend. Still, he wouldn't mind a chance to see her again so a drink sounded good. "You're on," he said.

Tamsin laughed and said goodbye. Horatio set down his cell phone and sipped at his coffee thoughtfully. A trip to RAF Scampton seemed to be a worthwhile exertion but he sensed that there was _another_ reason behind Tamsin's proposal…and it wasn't so she could hit on him. No, there was something else…

He finished his breakfast and paid the café owner before walking outside to call Eric.

"What's up H?" Eric asked. He was breathing heavily; he must've been out jogging.

"Eric, I need a favor," said Horatio. "I need you to call Wolfe and Calleigh…then you all need to meet me at my place."

"Sure, H…can I ask why?"

"I'll tell you when you get there," Horatio replied. "It's a surprise."

"A surprise?" Eric asked. "This ought to be good."

"You have no idea."

- - - - - -- - - - -- - - - - -- - - -- - - - -

Once Calleigh, Ryan Wolfe, and Eric arrived at Horatio's home and settled down with a drink Horatio sat down and told them about his conversation with Tamsin and that they were invited to go with him to England to visit RAF Scampton. His three CSIs looked at one another for a moment then they looked at him with smiles and nods.

"We're in," said Eric.

"Yeah!" chimed in Wolfe.

Horatio couldn't help but smile. "Good," he said. "Pack your bags, everyone…"

Plans were made and Wolfe just had to get the last word in: "This is awesome…we're going to England!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_And just when I thought New York and Miami were spectacular…_

Horatio and his three CSIs landed at Heathrow Airport at six in the morning US time. As they trekked out of the plane, weary and hungry from their trip, Horatio was surprised at how much colder it was here in England and made a metal note to thank Eric later for reminding him about bringing jackets…although he felt a little bit like Kenny from _South Park_.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Wolfe as he blew into his gloved hands. "I'm starving."

"Patience is a virtue, Wolfe," said Eric teasingly. "Maybe we should see about renting a car."

"Do you know how to drive British cars?" Calleigh wondered. "The steering wheel is on the right side instead of left and you drive on the right side of the road." She pulled her white fleece beanie further down to cover her ears. "It bites that Alexx couldn't join us…she'd love this."

Horatio meanwhile was scanning the airport for surely Tamsin told somebody that they were coming. He certainly didn't want to try and drive a British car. _At times like these I miss the Hummers;_ he thought but didn't say it aloud.

"Well I wouldn't drive an English car if you guys paid me," said Wolfe with a smile. "I'd crash us into a telephone poll."

"No need to do that, Mr. Wolfe," said Horatio as he spied a familiar person walking towards them. "Someone is already here."

Tamsin hadn't changed one bit as she embraced Horatio and shook hands with Calleigh, Wolfe, and Eric. She was still slender, petite, and friendly, except she had grown out her short dark-blond hair and had glasses on her blue-blue eyes. She grinned at all of them. "Welcome to Great Britain," she said. "You lot must be starving to death so I'll take you to this great eatery that I know and then we'll be on our way to Scampton village. You can get some rest and then we'll pay a visit to the airbase. Richard has left the gate open for us."

"Sounds good," said Horatio. "Everyone up for that?"

"Oh yeah," said Eric.

Tamsin nodded. "Good. Follow me."

She led them to her car and pulled them in before starting the engine and speeding away from the airport. Horatio, sitting in the passenger's seat watched her drive with keen interest while the other gawked over the scenery that passed by their windows.

While eating such British staples as fish and chips and Shepard's pie, Horatio looked at Tamsin who smiled back at him. "It's good to see you again, Tam," he said. "Thanks for the invite."

"Well, I had to get you out and about somehow now, didn't I?" she returned. After a moment she added, "You look good, Horatio. I see your red hair hasn't changed. I used to be jealous of your hair…if you don't mind me saying so."

Horatio chuckled nervously, hoping that the others didn't hear that remark. But then he remembered his thought from the days' previous and swallowed before asking it. "Tam…was there a reason you invited us to tour RAF Scampton?"

At this she leaned back in her chair and looked at him fretfully and he noticed that she was anxiously swinging her foot. "Actually, there is," she said after a moment of tense silence. "I was wondering, Horatio…do you believe in ghosts? Paranormal, that sort of thing?"

"Tamsin, I'm a police officer and a CSI. You know that my mind exists in one frame and not the other."

"I know, I know. I'm just saying." Tamsin took a sip of her coffee before continuing. "It's just…well, working at the airbase…it's…a bit scary."

That grabbed Horatio's attention. "Scary?" he asked. "Scary how?"

Tamsin didn't say anything. Horatio repeated, "Scary how?"

She took a deep breath and let it out and Horatio was stunned to see that she was shaking. "I think the airbase is haunted," she said. "I know that loads of people have told me that it was reported to be brimming with ghosts in the past…the ghost of Wing Commander Gibson's dog being seen and all that sort of thing. At first I thought they were just stories and I didn't believe any word of them at first but…" She began digging around in her purse for a cigarette and when Horatio saw that move he knew that she must have been really nervous. "…There were times were I thought I was being watched when I knew that I was alone," she continued. "I've heard noises, like someone was opening and closing the doors, and I've heard someone greeting me at one of the control towers whenever I happened to be up there."

"Are you sure that someone isn't just trying to scare you?" Horatio asked.

Tamsin shook her head. "No. No one is allowed to be at the airbase unless they are personnel."

She looked at Horatio desperately and he saw genuine terror in her eyes. "I wonder…do you think it's them? Gibson and the members of the Dambusters coming back to haunt us?" Horatio took her hand and smiled gently at her.

"I'm sure there is a logical explanation for all this, Tam," he said softly. "But we'll be happy to see if someone isn't just pulling pranks."

She sighed and smiled at him again, relief bringing some of the color back into her cheeks. "Thank you, Horatio," she said. "I was so afraid that I was going mad."

While they were waiting for Tamsin in the car Eric leaned over and tapped Horatio on the shoulder. "H, is Miss Shaw OK? She looked a little frazzled during lunch."

"She's fine," said Horatio though he knew she wasn't. "Eric, while we're at Scampton I need you and the others to be on a sharp lookout for anybody trying to pull pranks. There have been some incidents there while Tamsin was working."

"Incidents? Like what?"

"I don't know myself, but it's been enough to convince Tam that the airbase is haunted."

Eric went pale. "Haunted?"

- - - -- - - -- - - -- - - - -- - - -

After catching up on some much-needed sleep the four CSIs once again piled into Tamsin's car and they were off to visit RAF Scampton.

"So who were the Dambusters Miss Shaw?" asked Wolfe over the sound of the car's engine.

"They were an Royal Air Force squadron specially trained to bomb six Nazi dams during WWII," replied Tamsin. "No. 617 Squadron. They've become sort of a national institution here in Britain…everyone knows who they are."

"Were there any folk from the good ol' USA in there?" Wolfe asked.

"There were, indeed. Two of them: Joe McCarthy and Melvyn 'Dinghy' Young."

"What the hell is a dinghy?" laughed Eric.

Tamsin smiled. "A rubber boat," she answered. "Pilots had them in case they needed to bale out over water."

Tamsin drove the car up to a gate and waved to a thin man in a security guard's outfit and he nodded at her and opened the creaking gate. As they drove in, Horatio and the others stared in amazement at the old building.

"Oh my God, look at _that_," breathed Calleigh.

"I agree with you one hundred percent on that, Calleigh," said Eric. "Wow."

"That's the biggest airbase I'd ever seen," Wolfe pointed out.

Horatio had nothing to say at that moment, and it wasn't just because he was being rude. He'd seen airbases from the Second World War before back in the States but there was something more to RAF Scampton. It felt daunting and somehow intimidating, making every US airbase look very small in his opinion. And there was something else…something in the air that he couldn't explain.

He suppressed a shudder.

They got out of the car and continued to gawk. Tamsin grinned and walked a couple of meters away from the car before turning toward them and holding out her arms.

"Welcome, everyone," she said, "to RAF Scampton."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As he walked passed the open gate Horatio felt like he was strangely walking backwards through time. Some people back in Miami used to tell him that, in Miami, the air was always different, and that seemed to be the case here. Maybe it was because so much history had occurred here that was making him feel this way or – as Tamsin had told him – maybe it was the possibility that the place was haunted.

_Will you listen to yourself?_ said the little voice in the back of his mind. _You know that there's no such thing as ghosts! Stop kidding yourself!_

Tamsin drove them away from the gate and parked the car. As she got out Horatio's eyes fell on the control tower, which wasn't hard to miss. Something about that part of the airbase slapped him in the face immediately and he wasn't sure what…it just seemed to grab hold of his attention and never let go.

"Horatio?"

It was Calleigh and she too was looking up at the control tower. "You OK?" she asked.

Horatio looked at her and nodded. "I'm fine, pal," he said. "Just looking…" Calleigh smiled and went back to join the others. Horatio overheard Tamsin giving Eric and Wolfe a history lesson on the Dambusters and at that he smiled. He didn't need to partake; Tamsin knew that he already knew everything.

When he looked back to the control tower he narrowed his eyes. Someone was at the control tower, walking up and down the balcony corridor, smoking a pipe. Horatio couldn't see the person clearly but he could tell the person was male, short, young – probably twenty-four or twenty-five years old – and was strangely dressed in the blue uniform of a Royal Air Force officer from the 1940s. He was smoking a pipe and looking out into the blue, his blue eyes unreadable, his handsome square face clean-shaven, his dark hair neat and untoyed with by the wind.

Then, the man looked away from the sky and down at Horatio and Horatio immediately felt his stomach hit his backbone.

"Hey!" he called out and started off toward the control tower. "Wait a minute!"

Tamsin called, "Horatio? What is it?" and started after him. "Horatio, what is it?" she repeated.

"Someone's on the balcony of the control tower!" Horatio called back, reaching the doors only to find them locked. "Dammit!"

Tamsin joined him, breathing heavily. "Horatio," she wheezed. "There's no one up there…no one's allowed unless they work here. Who did you see?"

"Yeah," said Wolfe. "Who'd you see H?"

Horatio fought down his feeling of apprehension and told everyone of the man in the blue RAF uniform whom he had seen. When he finished Eric, Calleigh, and Wolfe looked puzzled and Tamsin had turned two shades of pale. "Maybe he was a renactor?" suggested Calleigh.

"No," said Tamsin in a shaking voice. "He wasn't."

"Then who was he?" asked Eric. "Someone who works here?"

Tamsin shook her head. "That was Wing Commander Guy Gibson whom you have just seen, Horatio," she said and Horatio suddenly felt faint. "Oh my God…"

"Who's Guy Gibson?" Wolfe wondered.

Horatio didn't need Tamsin to explain, he did it for her. "Mr. Wolfe, Guy Gibson was the commanding officer of 617 Squadron at the time of the Dams Raid," he said. "And he's been dead for sixty-four years."

A stunned silence fell over them and Tamsin immediately dove into her purse looking for the keys. "We need to get up there," she said.

- - - -- - - -- - - - -- - - - - -

The control tower was quiet and peaceful; nothing suggested that someone had been up on the balcony. Eric, Calleigh, and Wolfe even split up and patrolled the balcony left to right and found nothing or no one.

Horatio stood at the balcony, looking up into the sky as he had seen the young man do, wondering if his mind wasn't playing tricks on him. Maybe he was hallucinating the whole thing and he really didn't just see the ghost of Guy Gibson just a moment before.

But then why did he smell pipe smoke in the air?


End file.
